There was a lot of time between this year and the previous year of 1972 for me. It's the usual life gets in the way and I get stuck on a film or two for awhile. But I always love starting off a new year with this category because it always gives me some films I would otherwise never hear about or know about at all. Sometimes I find that hidden gem, mostly it's bad films and boring performances. But I at least get to broaden my knowledge of film in general and of different actors and directors and see something outside the norm. I have seen none of these and I am eager to dive in again.
1971 Best Supporting Actress
Cloris Leachman - The Last Picture Show
I only knew Leachman as an older woman who would show up in random movies and TV shows I watched. Her talent has been evident even if some of the material she was in was not the best. So I was curious to see her win here in hopes of better understanding her as an actress. When you have multiple nominees from the same film and one of those wins, you pay extra attention to the winner since it must be special to not split any votes. Leachman is terrific, though. In a film about a small West Texas town, Leachman plays an unhappy married woman who is hooking up with a high school senior. Leachman is very restrained in the role and though you can feel her indignation emanating from her core, she remains calm and collected on the outside for most of the film. It's this quiet, resounding anger that permeates her performance that really makes you take notice. She's not onscreen all that much but when she is, she commands your attention. It's that small town wife who has been abandoned/unloved by her husband for so long that she just wants to feel wanted again. Her Oscar moment comes at the end of the film when this bubbling anger finally boils over and she explodes at Timothy Bottoms for using her. It's a powerful scene and truly memorable acting. I do think that scene cements the Oscar for Leachman but her whole performance is really something worth watching. It's strong dramatic work from a woman who was mostly known for her comedic skills.
Ann-Margret - Carnal Knowledge
I had no idea what this was going to be going into it. I had heard of the film before but just thought it was some early 70s free love type of thing. But it's actually a Mike Nichols film and stars Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, and Art Garfunkel of all people (and Rita Moreno and Carol Kane, for good measure). It has gorgeous cinematography when I was expecting some campy, crappy, exploitative film. I guess that's what I get for assuming. It tells the story of Nicholson and Garfunkel, two friends who are obsessed with sex and we see their different loves throughout their lives. It's like an X-rated Woody Allen film and it is freaking fantastic. All the actors are great but Ann-Margret really stepped into her role. I enjoyed her in Tommy, but that was just a fun, crazy film that she could let loose in. In this film, she plays an older lover of Nicholson and it's a very serious, dramatic role. It definitely feels like she is shedding her good girl image of all those teen films and Bye Bye Birdie roles. There are frank discussions of sex and if my research is correct, it's the first time a condom appears in a film and first time someone says the word 'cunt.' Back to Ann-Margret, though, she is fully invested in her character and has the dramatic chops to go toe to toe with Nicholson. The highlight is their fight in the bedroom and you can just sense the desperation and loneliness and frustration and helplessness emanating from her every pore. There is also another scene that really stands out to me when Nicholson leaves to take a shower and Ann-Margret is sitting up in bed and the camera just lingers on her while the shower goes. It's like you can see her thinking a million things as she stares vacantly around the room and it's just tremendous acting without doing much at all. I know when I saw/learned she was a twice nominated actress that I thought they might just be throwing her a bone because they liked her. But no, she earned this nomination and could quite frankly end up my winner. She just wants to be loved and cared for and puts up with an asshole Nicholson who just uses her for sex and you feel for her awful situation. This is a performance and a film that I can't recommend highly enough, go watch it.
Ellen Burstyn - The Last Picture Show
If you have been following my blog and have a good memory, you would know that I'm not the biggest Ellen Burstyn fan. I'm not sure I've really liked any of her nominated work save The Exorcist nomination. This was her first nomination so at least I'm done reviewing her work but it's actually not all that bad. She plays Cybill Shepherd's mother in the film and is dealing with not being the hottest thing in their small West Texas town. She's jealous of her daughter and meddles in her love life while still trying to be her old sexy, flirty self. Burstyn is actually pretty good looking in this film so that works with the character because I've never thought she was very attractive in her other work/real life. That is to say that she plays this mother holding on to her last remaining time of being sexy and she actually is. She is one of the louder roles in the film and makes a grand entrance and is allowed to let loose while other characters wallow in their own self pity. So Burstyn gets to enjoy herself and push the performance in some interesting ways as a desperate housewife. There's emotion in the performance but the arc is rather flat and Leachman gets the showier ending, though Burstyn gets a nice little wistful remembrance scene to work with. It's a decent performance from Burstyn that others will probably really love, I just wish I found her other work to be as decent as this is.
Barbara Harris - Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?
This film holds the record for longest title of any Oscar nominee and just reading it is almost tiring. It's certainly one of those that I would never have heard of if not for this project and it is really different. It actually stars Dustin Hoffman as a famous musician who contemplates suicide and we go on this trippy ride that is leftover from the 60s. It's like a stream of conscious type film where there's all kinds of random moments. Some work, most don't. It becomes a little tedious after the intrigue of Hoffman film I've never heard of dies down and this is Hoffman at his most self indulgent. Luckily, the film has Harris to rescue it from bottoming out. She pops in as an actress auditioning for a role with Hoffman with about 30 minutes left and breathes much needed life into this dying film. I was enthralled with Harris. It's just a simple audition scene but she does so much in such a little amount of time that it's like this is from a completely different film. She is alive and she has the nervousness to her character that seems so genuine. It's great physical acting as well as great timing with her line deliveries. And she can act with just her expressions. It's really something to behold. Not even because the film meanders off and gets lost and Harris saves the day. It makes me want to watch anything else Harris did so I can see what I've been missing out on and if it lives up to this performance. Hoffman also smartly backs off and lets Harris steal the show in her two scenes. It's a very good performance in a short amount of time in a film that sorely needed it. Fun fact: this film features Shel Silverstein doing all the music and performing a song with Hoffman onscreen. Worth a watch for Harris and Silverstein.
Margaret Leighton - The Go-Between
I feel like I've written this same review about 30 times now and I'm at the point where I could just copy and paste without skipping a beat. This film isn't very good. It's boring with some awful young actors at it's core. Yet somehow this won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. I have no idea how, but it's really not enjoyable save for a few brief scenes. The title refers to a boy who visits his rich school friend for the summer (he's poor, obviously) and becomes the go-between messenger for various people in the house/area while his friend recovers from measles or some such illness. It trudges along and Leighton is the woman of the house. She sits at the head of the table and is the matron and acts like an older woman. For the whole film, minus the very end, she does nothing that stands out. It's a non-performance not even worth paying attention to, yet here we are. She gets nominated because at the very end of the movie, she bursts into the film with no trepidation and becomes this fiery, angry woman who wants to know where her daughter is and leads the kid who delivers messages to go find her. Well, she's banging a farmer from nearby and this whole outburst from the mother is completely unearned. Nothing prepares you for it and it's way too all of the sudden. And as quickly as we start to get something interesting, the film ends. I don't think it's very good, performance and film-wise. Maybe it's one of those a bunch of voters liked her/knew her, I dunno. But if you ever watch this and think she deserves to be here, please tell me what you see in this performance because I'd truly like to know. What a weird Cannes winner and pointless Oscar nominee.
Probably one of the better groups from this category I've had in awhile. There always seems to be that one performance that is just a head scratcher as to why it's even nominated. Leighton is definitely it for this year. Not much to the performance and just a waste of a spot. And it somehow won at Cannes? Okay then. Burstyn is 4th but not bad at all. I liked the performance but Leachman was better to me overall. And Burstyn being 4th means this is a pretty good year because I actually did like her. That film is for sure worth watching because it's an absolute classic. So then we have Harris at third which is a surprise for me. I thought that with the silly title and the fact that the film was more of an exercise for Dustin Hoffman that I wouldn't like her much. But wow did she surprise me! It was such a breath of fresh air and unexpected. You could probably just watch her scene and forget the rest of the film. Leachman actually comes in second for me. I liked her a lot and her end scene is truly powerful but Ann-Margret was so incredibly, unexpectedly amazing to me that she was my easy winner. I want to watch that film all over again because it's so good and because she is so good. Both of her nominations were entertaining, shame she couldn't win one! On to 1970!
Oscar Winner: Cloris Leachman - The Last Picture Show
My Winner: Ann-Margret - Carnal Knowledge
Cloris Leachman
Barbara Harris
Ellen Burstyn
Margaret Leighton
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